Roller skate having resiliently mounted wheel trucks



C. NOVARA Dec. 15, 1964 ROLLER SKATE HAVING RESILIENTLY MOUNTED WHEEL TRUCKS Filed May 29, 1962 INVENTOR. v CAESAR NOVARA ATTORNEY United States Patent "ce 3,161,415 M ROLLER SKATE HAVING RESEIENTLY MOUNTED WHEEL TRUEKS Caesar Novara, 3M0 Bronx Blvd, Bronx, N.Y. Filed May 29, 1962, Ser. No. 1138,5 12 2 Claims. ((11. 280-1138) This invention relates to a roller skate and more par= ticularly to a resiliently mounted skate either for attachment to a permanent shoe-roller skate combination as is commonly used in indoor roller skating arenas or for roller skates which are attachable and detachable from ordinary street shoes.

A principal object of the present invention is the provision of a roller skate having a resilient material, such as rubber, fixed between the shoe supporting plate and the hanger for the wheel. This resilient material located in a particular position functions as a shock absorber resulting in more comfortable and safer skating.

Another object of the present invention is to provide improved results in skating comfort with little alteration in the present skate design.

A further object of the present invention is the provision of a simplified means for securing the elements of the skate together, the entire assembly being inexpensive to manufacture and reliably efiective for the purpose intended.

The above and other features, objects and advantages of the present invention will be fully understood from the 1 following description considered in connection with the accompanying illustrative drawings.

FIG. 1 is a side elevation-of the roller skate embodying the teachings of my invention, and having a rear wheel removed for the purpose of clarity.

FIG. 2 is a front elevation view thereof and FIG. 3 is a bottom plan view of the roller skate construction embodying the present invention.

In the drawing, the roller skate constructed in accordance with the present invention comprises a shoe supporting plate which has the general configuration of a shoe sole and heel combination, and on the underside thereof is provided with hemispherical integral portions 12. It should be noted that the plate 10 may be afiixed permanently to a roller skating shoe by means of rivets, adhesives or such (not shown), or the plate may be attachable and detachable from ordinary street shoes. Both of these roller skating devices are well known and a further description thereof is considered unnecessary. A substantially hemispherical or cup-shaped and resilient element 14 which is preferably constituted of rubber is located between the hemispherical portions 12 of the shoe supporting plate 10 and the cup-shaped upper portions 13 of the wheel hangers 16 and is in intimate engagement therewith. The usual roller skate wheels 20 are rotatably mounted on axles 22, the latter being securely held in the wheel hangers 16.

Each of the wheel hangers 16 is secured to the shoe supporting sole plate by means of a stud 24 passing through openings 26 and 28 in the resilient element 14 and the wheel hanger 16 and threaded at 30' into the hemispherical portion 12 of the plate 10. The stud 24 is held in place by means of a ball washer 32 and a lock nut 34. Thus, the stud 24 is at an angle of about 30 to the plane of plate 10 and is located off-center from the hemispherical portion 12 and cup-shaped upper portion 18. This arrangement permits only a restricted rotational movement of the wheel hangers 16 and wheels 20 about the stud 24.

The rubber or resilient element 14 functions as a shock absorber which absorbs shock in all directions (360) due to its cup-shaped or hemispherical construction. Thus,

3,161,415 Patented Dec. 15, 1964 a shock=cushioning action is obtained by means of the use of a resilient element, such as rubber and with the configuration shown, at the location Between the cup-' shaped upper portion 18 of the wheelhafigei 16 and the hemispherical integral portion 12 of the shoe suppsrting plate 10. This results in a more comfortable and safer skate. Of course, other resilient material for example,- plastics in the form of synthetic rubber, such as huty rubber, and elastomers, such as silicone rubbers may be utilized as the cushioning, resilient material 14. It should be apparent that the wheel hanger 16 for each of the wheels 20 will absorb the vettic al movement as well as the torque of the wheels when they encounter bumps 01 holes on the skating surfaces. I

While I have shown and described the preferred ern= bodiment of my invention, it will be understood that the latter may be embodied otherwise than as herein speoifically illustrated or described and that in the illustrated embodiment certain changes in the details of construction and in the arrangement of parts may be made without departing from the underlying idea or principle of the invention within the of the appended claims.

l. A roller skate comprising a shoe supporting plate having a pair of spaced hemispherical portioiis on the 1m: derside thereof, a wheel hanger for each ofsaid hemis= pherical portions being provided with a cup-shaped iippet portion conforming to the configuration of the adjacent hemispherical portion, a cup-shaped resilient element located between and abutting said hemispherical portion and said cup-shaped uppeipoftion of the wheel hanger whereby the shock transmitted from the wheels of the skate to the shoe supporting plateis cushioned by said resilient element, and a stud and lock nut combination securing said wheel hanger, resilient element and shoe sup-- porting plate together, said stud being located off-center relative to the vertical center of said hemispherical portion and at an angle of about 30 to theldii'gitiidirial center line of said shoe supporting plate of the roller iiat'e.

2. A roller skate comprising a shoe supporting plate having a pair of spaced hemispherical portions on the underside thereof, a wheel hanger for each of said hemis pherical portions being provided with a cup-shaped upper portion, a cup-shaped resilient member located in abutting relationship betwe en said cup-shaped upper portion of the Wheel hanger and said hemispherical portion thereby con forming in configuration to both the former and latter whereby the shock transmitted by the wheels of the skate to the shoe supporting plate in all directions is cushioned by said resilient element, and a stud and lock-nut combine tion securing the cup-shaped upper portion of each Wheel hanger to an adjacent hemispherical portion of said shoe supporting plate, said stud and lock-nut combination each being located between said Wheels and converging toward each other, each of said studs being positioned at an angle of approximately 30 to the longitudinal center line of said shoe supporting plate of the roller skate.

References Cited in the file of this'patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 103,346 Lemman May 24, 1870' 2 ,819 Rushforth Apr. 4, 1882; 284,187 Coombs Sept. 4, 1883'- 40,l34 Salberg Aug. 23, 1927 2,558,696 Van Horn June 26, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS 2,618 Great Britain; Dec. l9,v I876 

1. A ROLLER SKATE COMPRISING A SHOE SUPPORTING PLATE HAVING A PAIR OF SPACED HEMISPHERICAL PORTIONS ON THE UNDERSIDE THEREOF, A WHEEL HANGER FOR EACH OF SAID HEMISPHERICAL PORTIONS BEING PROVIDED WITH A CUP-SHAPED UPPER PORTION CONFORMING TO THE CONFIGURATION OF THE ADJACENT HEMISPHERICAL PORTION, A CUP-SHAPED RESILIENT ELEMENT LOCATED BETWEEN AND ABUTTING SAID HEMISPHERICAL PORTION AND SAID CUP-SHAPED UPPER PORTION OF THE WHEEL HANGER WHEREBY THE SHOCK TRANSMITTED FROM THE WHEELS OF THE SKATE TO THE SHOE SUPPORTING PLATE IS CUSHIONED BY SAID RESILIENT ELEMENT, AND A STUD AND LOCK NUT COMBINATION SECURING SAID WHEEL HANGER, RESILIENT ELEMENT AND SHOE SUPPORTING PLATE TOGETHER, SAID STUD BEING LOCATED OFF-CENTER RELATIVE TO THE VERTICAL CENTER OF SAID HEMISPHERICAL PORTION AND AT AN ANGLE OF ABOUT 30* TO THE LONGITUDINAL CENTER LINE OF SAID SHOE SUPPORTING PLATE OF THE ROLLER SKATE. 